60秒科学:晚上在照明下的老鼠更容易变得肥胖

研究表明，在晚上给老鼠给光照，老鼠会变得不那么活泼，而且会发胖。 

 Light at night increases mice's body mass, apparently¹ by shifting food intake² to times when the animals are less active. Karen Hopkin reportsYou’ve tried everything to lose weight: portion control, fasting, liquid diets, even eating meals on a treadmill³. Now, a new study suggests that maybe you should try turning out the lights. Because, at least in mice, exposure to light at night leads to weight gain. The work appears in the Proceedings⁴ of the National Academy of Sciences. [Laura Fonken et al., "Light at Night Increases Body Mass by Shifting the Time of Food Intake"]

Obesity⁵ is an epidemic⁶. Maybe it’s because we eat too much and spend too much time in our seats. But another factor could be that these days we’re never really in the dark. Streetlamps and indoor light sources now brighten our nights. And that light pollution could be messing with our circadian rhythms, which control not only sleep, but metabolism⁷. In fact, mutant mice that have no circadian clocks tend to be chunky.

To test the connection between photons and fat, scientists took mice and lit up their cages. And they found that mice that were exposed to even dim light at night were chubbier⁸ than mice who spent their evenings in the dark. Though they all ate the same amount, the fat mice snacked more when they were less active, perhaps failing to burn off those calories.

So maybe skip the night light. Especially the one that lights up when you open up the fridge.

—Karen Hopkin
 

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

3 treadmill   

n.踏车；单调的工作

参考例句：

• The treadmill has a heart rate monitor.跑步机上有个脉搏监视器。
• Drugs remove man from the treadmill of routine.药物可以使人摆脱日常单调的工作带来的疲劳。

4 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

5 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

6 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

7 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

8 chubbier   

adj.胖乎乎的，圆胖的，丰满的( chubby的比较级 )

参考例句：